A thoroughly entertaining variation of the much loved classic "Pride and Prejudice."

The audiobook version is a wonderful treat thanks to David Pickering's fantastic narratio, that I highly recommend if you are looking for a light, mirthful short story.

Review published at:

https://frompemberleytomilton.wordpress.com/2020/05/11/the-most-interesting-man-in-the-world-by-jan-ashton-justine-rivard/

The Most Interesting Man in the World is the type of book I would normally disregard, but I was in the mood for something short and entertaining, so I decided to go for it, and it just blew my mind!

I never thought I would love this book so much, but it is definitely unforgettable and a story I recommend to everyone, even to those who like me, have no great affection for Mr. Bingley.

This novella is entirely told from Mr. Bingley’s POV, and not only is the reader privy to Mr. Bingley’s version of events in Pride and Prejudice, but also to every single thought that goes through Bingley’s mind, and I grant you, there is nothing more entertaining than that. 

The reader is inside Bingley’s brain the entire time, and his brain is the messier yet funnier place there is. He cannot focus on one single subject for too long and is often too entrapped in his own thoughts to understand what is going on around him, that makes him goofy but sweet and funny. We realise why Jane is so appealing to him, and that as expected there isn’t one mean bone in his body, even if he detests his sisters company, but then again, who doesn’t, right?

You’ve probably realized this by now, but this isn’t a romance at all, it is more like a bromance. Mr. Bingley worships Mr. Darcy who is, in his eyes, the most interesting, intelligent and perfect man in the world. Bingley’s fascination is incredibly funny and I laughed out loud more times than I can count with everything that was going on in his mind, especially when he started thinking about Darcy’s ability to speak greek.

The Most Interesting Man in the World is an incredibly diverting and well written novella that will entertain all readers who love Pride and Prejudice. Because it only tells events where Mr. Bingley is present, the reader must have some knowledge of the story, but those familiar with Austen’s masterpiece will go on an unforgettable ride with this book. I highly recommend it! it is too funny to be missed :) Seriously, too funny to be missed!

Listening to this on audiobook, narrated by David Pickering, I have laughed so hard so many times.
Poor Bingley is ADHD, with a big time (purely platonic) Man-Crush on Darcy.
He is an innocent, yet very sincere young man trying to find his way in the world after falling in love with Jane and being convinced she didn't love him back.
The back story timeline is canon P&P, with some jumps. We are literally in his head, hearing his every thought.

There is something a little raunchy/tongue in cheek/double entandre about the story. Only adds to the humor.

This was so much fun to read! I was intrigued by the idea of a book from Bingley's perspective but he has never been one of my favorite characters so I began with some trepidation. However, the many positive reviews enumerating the joys of this work convinced me to give it a shot. Bingley's perspective is light, his inner commentary, while frequently misinterpreting things, feels completely consistent with what we see. Indeed, I think I like Bingley more after having read this book, than I did before. I still would not want to marry him ;) , but that's fine since he is, after all, a fictional character.

You do need to be familiar with P&P because this book skips so much of what happens in the original and just provides commentary in between several of the scenes that take place in P&P. This is not a drawback however, we barely even hear about Lydia (certainly we have no idea what happened there), we don't have commentary about the Bennet family (far to busy dwelling on the pulchritude of Jane Bennet to notice them, any of them), and we get lovely commentary on just how annoying Bingley finds his sisters (which is nice, apparently he dislikes them, Caroline specifically, just as much as the rest of us do).

My only problem with this book, was that it wasn't entirely clean there were some comments here and there about that weren't necessary and then the very last chapter had lengthy scene where the grooms (the night before their wedding) had an illuminating discussion with the considerably more worldly Colonel. There was also a lot of drinking and getting drunk throughout the book.

I recommend this book because it is so much fun and it is a short griping read, but only if you are okay with reading about frequent drinking and some vague comments about sex.